Joe Biden on Technology

Vice President; previously Democratic Senator (DE)

Double amount of spectrum available for wireless broadband

V.P. Biden announced the release of a new report, "The Economic Benefits of New Spectrum for Wireless Broadband", describing the substantial economic value of aggressively pursuing Pres. Obama's goal of nearly doubling the amount of spectrum available
for wireless broadband over ten years and deploying a nationwide interoperable wireless network for public safety.

The report summarizes the compelling evidence that additional spectrum for wireless broadband is needed to accommodate the surging demand
for wireless data traffic, projected to increase by a factor of twenty by 2015. The report also describes the potential for wireless broadband to play a transformative role in public safety and as a platform for innovation in many areas of the economy.

"I've been working on changing the way we allocate spectrum for a long time, because a smarter system is good for our economy, good for innovation, and vital to keeping our cops, firefighters and EMTs safe," said Vice President Biden.

Internet is new public space; make it a force for democracy

Nearly 1/3 of humankind is online today, something we would have never thought possible 20 years ago: more than 2 billion people and counting. The Internet has become the public space of the 21st century, a sphere of activity for all kinds of activities,
open to all people of all backgrounds and all beliefs.

More than 5 billion people will connect to the Internet in the next 20 years. And most of them will live in countries and regions that are now under-represented online.
The benefits they'll derive from it are going to depend in large degree on the choices all of us today make. The Internet itself is not inherently a force for democracy or oppression, for war or for peace. Like any public square or any platform
for commerce, the Internet is neutral. But what we do there isn't neutral. It's up to us to decide whether and how we will protect it against the dangers that can occur in cyberspace while maintaining the conditions that give rise to its many benefits.

Source: VP's Remarks to London Cyberspace Conference
, Nov 1, 2011

No exclusive government control over Internet resources

No citizen of any country should be subject to a repressive global code when they send an email or post a comment to a news article. Now, there are some who have a different view, as you all know. They seek an international legal instrument that would
lead to exclusive government control over Internet resources, institutions and content and national barriers on the free flow of information online. But this, in our view, would lead to a fragmented Internet, one that does not connect people but divides
them; a stagnant cyberspace, not an innovative one, and ultimately a less secure cyberspace with less trust among nations.

So the United States stands behind the current approach which harnesses the best of governments and private sector and civil
society to manage the technical evolution of the Internet in real time. This public-private collaboration has kept the Internet up and running all over the world.

Source: VP's Remarks to London Cyberspace Conference
, Nov 1, 2011

WikiLeaks founder is a high-tech terrorist

Vice-President Joe Biden made his case for why WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is a "high-tech terrorist" in an appearance on NBC's "Meet The Press."

"This guy has done things and put in jeopardy the lives and occupations of people in other parts
of the world," Biden said. "He's made it difficult to conduct our business with our allies and our friends. ... It has done damage."

Biden also claimed the leaks have had a direct impact on his own work when meeting with world leaders. "There is a desire now to meet with me alone rather than have staff in the room," he said. "It makes things more cumbersome."

Biden said the Justice Department is exploring possible legal action against Assange. His comments echoed those made by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell earlier this month. "I think the man is a high-tech terrorist," McConnell said.

Source: Huffington Post, 'High-Tech Terrorist'
, Dec 19, 2010

China invests 7% of GDP in infrastructure; we invest only 1%

On infrastructure specifically, we have a huge opportunity. China invests 7%-9% of its GDP in infrastructure projects. We invest just 1%. There's a reason they have a mag-lev train that can go over 200 miles per hour. I may have a bit of a pro-rail bias,
but think of the jobs we could create--in both construction and innovation--if we made similarly bold investments here. We should fast-track funding for the thousands of ready-to-go projects across the country that can quickly put people back to work
and lay the foundation for long-term growth. In the longer term, we are calling for the creation of a new National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank that will help us make the investments we need to build a
21st century transportation system--while creating jobs and taking the politics out of infrastructure spending. And it has the added benefit of making American business more competitive in the world.

Proposed $980M for tunnel repair; others have dropped ball

Q: Did you guys in Congress drop the ball on infrastructure?

A: I didnít drop the ball. In 1992, I proposed a $20 billion infrastructure bill proposed by the mayors. We donít need any more studies; 560,000 bridges--27% of them are in bad shape. We have
been proposing since the day after 9/11 that we spend $980 million to refurbish the tunnels on the East Coast. My colleagues need to get on board. These guys, Republicans, have been irresponsible about our infrastructure, and the safety of this country.

Source: 2007 AFL-CIO Democratic primary forum
, Aug 7, 2007

Voted NO on restoring $550M in funding for Amtrak for 2007.

An amendment to provide an additional $550,000,000 for Amtrak for fiscal year 2007. Voting YEA would increase Amtrak funding from $900 million to $1.45 billion. Voting NAY would keep Amtrak funding at $900 million.

Proponents of the bill say to vote YEA because:

[In my state], Philadelphia's 30th Street station is the second busiest train station nationally, with over 3.7 million boarding a year. And 3,000 people are employed by Amtrak in Pennsylvania. Amtrak and the health of Amtrak is important.

Last year the Senate transportation bill had $1.45 billion for Amtrak, which is obviously more than the $900 million in the current budget proposal. I am offering an amendment to increase that funding from the $900 million which is in the bill right now to the $1.45 billion level and adding $550 million.

I support funding through the section 920 account [without a tax increase]. We have seen that without raising the cap or without raising taxes, the Senate has been able to
come up with a robust number for Amtrak which I will support within the context of a responsible budget.

We have spent less money on Amtrak in the last 35 years than we will on highways in this year alone. And highways don't pay for themselves, even with the gas tax. Neither does mass transit, either in this country or anywhere else in the world. But we subsidize them because they improve the quality of our lives.

We have never provided the kind of commitment to Amtrak that we have for other modes of transportation, and this amendment will be an important step to getting Amtrak off the starvation budgets that it has subsisted on for far too long.

Opponents of the bill say to vote NAY because:

The problem with that is there is no money in the section 920 account. If we want to talk about "funny money" financing, that is it--taking money from an account that has no money. This whole budget takes money we don't have. The result is we keep running up the debt.

Voted YES on disallowing FCC approval of larger media conglomerates.

Vote to pass a joint resolution expressing congressional disapproval of the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission. The rule would therefore have no force or effect. The rule in question deals with broadcast media ownership and would allow media conglomerates to own more television stations and newspapers.

Voted YES on Internet sales tax moratorium.

Vote against allowing states to require companies who do business in their state solely by phone, mail, or the Internet to collect state sales taxes. [Current law does not require companies to collect sales taxes where the customer is out of state]

Fund nanomaterial research project for car batteries.

A bill to promote the future of the American automobile industry, and for other purposes.

ADVANCED ENERGY INITIATIVE FOR VEHICLES:

To enable and promote, in partnership with industry, comprehensive development, demonstration, and commercialization of a wide range of electric drive components, systems, and vehicles using diverse electric drive transportation technologies;

to make critical public investments to help private industry, institutions of higher education, National Laboratories, and research institutions to expand innovation, industrial growth, and jobs in the United States;

to accelerate the widespread commercialization of all types of electric drive vehicle technology into all sizes and applications of vehicles, including commercialization of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid fuel cell vehicles; and

to improve the energy efficiency of and reduce the petroleum use in transportation.

The Secretary shall conduct a program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial application for electric drive transportation technology, including:

high-capacity, high-efficiency batteries;

control system development and power train development and integration for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid fuel cell vehicles, and engine dominant hybrid electric vehicles;

nanomaterial technology applied to both battery and fuel cell systems;

large-scale demonstrations, testing, and evaluation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in different applications with different batteries and control systems, including military applications; mass market passenger and light-duty truck applications; private fleet applications; and medium- and heavy-duty applications.

Overturn FCC approval of media consolidation.

Biden co-sponsored overturning FCC approval of media consolidation

Congressional Summary:Disapproves the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on February 22, 2008, relating to broadcast media ownership. Declares that the rule shall have no force or effect.

Proponents' Argument in Favor:Sen. DORGAN: The FCC loosened the ban on cross-ownership of newspapers and broadcast stations. We seek with this resolution of disapproval to reverse the FCC's fast march to ease media ownership rules. The FCC has taken a series of destructive actions in the past two decades that I believe have undermined the public interest. [Now they have given] a further green light to media concentration.

The FCC voted to allow cross-ownership of newspapers and broadcast stations in the top 20 markets, with loopholes for mergers outside of the top 20 markets.
The newspapers would be allowed to buy stations ranked above fifth and above.

The rule change was framed as a modest compromise. But make no mistake, this is a big deal. As much as 44% of the population lives in the top 20 markets. The last time the FCC tried to do this, in 2003, the Senate voted to block it.

This rule will undercut localism and diversity of ownership around the country. Studies show that removing the ban on newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership results in a net loss in the amount of local news produced in the market as a whole. In addition, while the FCC suggests that cross-ownership is necessary to save failing newspapers, the publicly traded newspapers earn annual rates of return between 16% and 18%.

This Resolution of Disapproval will ensure this rule change has no effect. This is again a bipartisan effort to stop the FCC from destroying the local interests that we have always felt must be a part of broadcasting.